Techknow: Motorola and Samsung smartwatches

Adam Turner

Strapping a smartwatch to your wrist reduces the need to reach for the smartphone in your pocket.

Both watches feature a large touchscreen, but the Motorola's Moto 360 round face helps it look more like a traditional wristwatch than Samsung's rectangular and slightly curved Gear S.

Both watches link to the Android phone in your pocket, displaying details of incoming calls, emails, texts and other notifications. You can also talk to the watches, dictating text messages and Google searches. Fitness fans will find built in pedometers and heart-rate monitors for tracking their activity during the day.

The Samsung's extra screen real estate makes it easier to read incoming messages, and it even pops up a tiny keyboard if you need it. Apps such as Google Maps will run on the Samsung watch, whereas the Motorola sends you across to your phone.

Dick Tracy fans will be pleased to find that the Samsung lets you make and receive calls via your wrist. The Motorola lets you accept or reject incoming calls, but you need to grab your phone from your pocket to talk.

VERDICT

Samsung's Gear S is more useful, but it's also bigger and more expensive – likely to appeal to people who put function before form. The more elegant Motorola Moto 360 might be a better fit for people who are more interested in receiving notifications on their wrist than using their watch as a mini-smartphone.

MOTOROLA MOTO 360 $329

The Moto 360 runs Google's Android Wear software, which plays nicely with a range of Android smartphones. It's reliant on the phone for internet access and most pop-up notifications, alerting you with a vibration, as there's no built-in speaker. Unlike the Samsung, it puts the watch face to sleep until your raise your arm – which is frustrating when you try to glance at the time.

SAMSUNG GEAR S $449

The Gear S runs Samsung's Tizen software, which only works in conjunction with Samsung Android smartphones. The watch accepts a SIM card so you can access the internet without your phone and even make calls from your wrist, but the trade-off is a separate phone bill. It can forward calls to and from your phone, so you don't need to give out the watch's phone number.

CHECK THIS OUT

If you're keen to track your fitness when you're on the run, you'll find earbuds with a built-in heart-rate monitor from the likes of LG and Jabra. These earbuds track your pulse and report back to the fitness app on your phone, while letting you listen to your favourite tunes as you exercise.